My wife and I took our first Azamara cruise on May 29th from Civitavecchia, Italy, to the Holy Land. I normally don't do postings, but I had a lot of questions before our cruise so I thought our experiences might be of benefit to others.
We flew to Rome three days prior to the cruise and arranged our own transportation to the port. Through no fault of Azamara, the port is not close to Rome. If making your own arrangements, make sure in advance that the company you are using takes credit cards. To be on the safe side, make sure you have enough Euros to cover the fare in case the machine isn't working, which is what happened to us.
The check-in process went very smoothly and only took a few minutes. We were greeted on the ship by crew members and offered champagne. We boarded at 2 p.m. and were told a buffet lunch was ready in the Windows Cafe.
Great location and quiet. Only a few steps from the elevator and stairs but we never heard other passengers. The cabin was clean. It wasn't overly spacious but it large enough for the two of us. Plenty of drawer and closet space.
The balcony had a small table and two chairs. It's not large enough to lay out in the sun.
Tiny bathroom.